Christmas on the titanic
by Salexhyraamilorquajyno
Summary: Rose and the Doctor are recovering from the year that never was when their led into another adventure.


The Doctor was just about to put the shields back up when they heard a horn blaring and a ship crashed through the side of the TARDIS. Rose landed on the jumpseat and the Doctor landed on the grating next to her. "What?" The Doctor questioned. "What?" He continued on as he got back to his feet then helped Rose up. A bell starts ringing as the Doctor picked up a life preserver nearby and read what it said. "What?"

Rose sighed as he kept repeating the word so she peered over his shoulder and read. "Titanic."

The Doctor and Rose cleared the debris from the console then Rose pushed a button as the Doctor turned a crank and they watched as the bow of the ship pulled back out of the wall and the wall was healed.

The Doctor sent a questioning look to Rose who just grinned at him as she materialised the TARDIS inside a cupboard. The Doctor stopped her before she could walk out the door. "Are you sure."

Rose sighed as she felt the Doctors worry, she placed a hand on his cheek. "We can't stop living out lives based on what's happened in the past. I may always have nightmares but I won't let it stop me."

The Doctor grinned at her as he took her hand and opened the door. They found themselves in a cupboard but they could hear the sounds of a party happening on the other side so they opened the cupboard door and walked into a room with people dressed up in evening clothes.

Rose's eye was drawn to a waitress as she served drinks. "You're very welcome," the waitress thanked.

They continued to walk around as they noticed all the Christmas decorations and funny angels that looked almost lifesize. Rose jumped back slightly as one of the angels lifted its head as they walked passed. The Doctor placed his arm around her as he sent soothing waves through the bond.

Then they noticed a short red spiky alien walk passed them. "So not the earth titanic, I take it?" Rose questioned.

The Doctor led her to a window that showed them the stars and planet earth. "Ri-i-i-ght!" The Doctor agreed.

"Attention all passengers," a voice announced over the intercom. "The Titanic is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth, population - Human. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas."

"It's Christmas," Rose realised as she looked to the Doctor.

The Doctor gestured back towards the TARDIS. "We can always head back and go somewhere else."

Rose sent him a soft smile. "No!" She decleared. "I have to get use to Christmas without mum sometime, when better than now," then she looked down at what she was wearing. "Though I think a change is in order, for the both of us."

The Doctor pouted at her as she led him back to the TARDIS. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, Doctor, you do," she insisted.

The Doctor went to their room to change into his tux while Rose headed off to the wardroom room where the TARDIS had already picked out a dress for her.

The Doctor was waiting for Rose just outside of the TARDIS as he tried not to be too worried about wearing the tux of doom again. He heard the TARDIS door opening and turned with a retort about how long it took her to get ready when he finally got a good look at her.

She was wearing an elegant TARDIS blue evening gown. Floor length with 3/4 sleeves from her bust down to the floor was a lovely silk material but her shoulders and sleeves were lace in the same colour. The dress seemed to float around her as she moved and he noticed the heels she were wearing was the same ones as she wore to Lazarus's party, the ones with heels that flatten if they need to run.

Rose battered his hand away from the bowtie that he was destroying and fixed it again. "Will you relax, I'll be fine and really it's not the tux that's a magnet for trouble. It's just you."

The Doctor grinned at her as he offered his arm. "I think we both have a nack for finding trouble."

Rose grinned back at him as she accepted his arm and they stepped back out into the foyer to join the party.

The Doctor led her to one of the portraits showing an advertisement. "Let's find out what exactly were on?" He suggested as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver to start the advert.

"Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, the fastest, the furthest, the best," some elderly guy their guessing is Max stated. "And I should know, because my name is Max!" As he finished his gold tooth seemed to wink at them.

They heard Christmas music start to play as they continued to wander around. "Merry Christmas, sir, ma'am," one of the waiters called out to them.

"Merry Christmas," the Doctor agreed as they walked through a doorway into a ballroom.

They walked passed a man talking on his phone. "It's not a holiday for me, not while I've still got my vone, now do as I say and sell!"

Rose scoffed as she heard him, typical businessman as she pointed the Doctor towards one of the angels. "Maybe we should find out where this ship came from."

The Doctor sent his agreement as they wandered up to the Angel. "Evening, Passenger 57, terrible memory, remind me, you would be?"

"Information," the angel informed them. "Heavenly Host, supplying tourist information."

"Good!" The Doctor agreed. "So, tell me, um, cause I'm an idiot, where are we from?"

"Information, the Titanic is en route from the Planet Sto in the Cassavanian Belt," the angel explained. "The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

Rose's brow rose while the Doctor tugged on his ear. "Titanic, um, who thought of the name?"

"Information," the angel explained. "It was chosen as the most famous vessel of the Planet Earth."

Rose scoffed. "Did they tell ya why it was famous?"

"Information," the angel stated. "All designations are chosen by Mr Max Capricorn, President of Max. . . Max. . .Max. . . Max. . . Max. . . Max."

The Doctor went to pull out his sonic screwdriver out as Rose stepped back. "Ooh! Bit of a glitch."

"Sorry, sir, we can handle this," one of the crew members stated as him and some other crew members lifted the angel up and carried it off. "Software problem, that's all, leave it with us, sir, ma'am, merry Christmas!" As the crew were walking away the Doctor and Rose heard them comment. "That's another one down, what's going wrong with these things?"

The Doctor shrugged of the strange behaviour and held out his hand to Rose. "Would you like to dance, Dame Rose."

Rose grinned back at him as she curtsied. "Why, I'd love to, Sir Doctor."

The Doctor returned her grin as he pulled her onto the dance floor and started to twirl her around. It was a few minutes later that Rose heard glass breaking and glanced over to see the same waitress as before being yelled at by the horrible businessman.

"Oh, for Tov's sake, look where you're going!" He shouted at her. "This jacket's a genuine Earth antique!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the waitress apologised though she sounded more frustrated than apologetic.

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart!" The businessman threatened. "Staffed by idiots! No wonder Max Capricorn's going down the drain!"

Rose pulled out of the Doctors arms and rushed over to help her. "Careful!" Rose cautioned. "There we are."

"Thank you, ma'am, I can manage," the waitress assured her.

"I never said you couldn't!" Rose assured her as she helped place the last of the broken glass on the tray and stood up. "I'm Rose," she introduced as the Doctor walked up to her and placed his arm around her waist. "And this is the Doctor."

The waitress sent Rose a soft smile. "Astrid, ma'am, Astrid Peth."

Rose sent her an answering grin. "Pleasure to meet you, Astrid, Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, ma'am, sir," Astrid returned sounding shocked that anyone would greet her.

Rose waved her off. "Just Rose, and he's just the Doctor, not ma'am and sir."

"You enjoying the cruise" Astrid questioned them.

The Doctor tugged on his ear again. "Um, yeah, I suppose, I don't know," the Doctor looked to Rose. "Luckily I'm not here on my own."

Rose pulled his hand away from his ear and laced their fingers together. "Your never alone," she assured him as she noticed Astrid looking between them. "What about you?" Rose turned to Astrid. "Long way from home, Planet Sto."

Astrid shrugged. "Doesn't feel that different. Spent three years working at the spaceport diner, travel all the way here, and I'm still waiting on tables," she stated as she continued clearing tables.

Rose sent a frown to the Doctor as they followed Astrid. "No shore leave?" The Doctor questioned.

"We're not allowed, they can't afford the insurance," Astrid explained. "I just wanted to try it, just once, I used to watch the ships heading out to the stars and I always dreamt of. . . Sounds daft."

Rose sent her an understanding smile. "I was like that," she assured Astrid. "When I was younger I would look up at the stars and imagine what it would be like to travel amoung them," she turned her grin to the Doctor who squeezed her hand. "Then I met a mad man with a box and my dream came true. New ground beneath your feet, new air, a whole universe filled with life."

"Why stand still when there's all that life out there?" The Doctor agreed.

"So you travel a lot?" Astrid questioned.

"All the time," the Doctor agreed. "Just for fun," his grin fell slightly. "Well, that's the plan, never quite works."

Rose nudged his shoulder. "Troubles just the bits in between," she assured him.

Astrid looked between them. "Must be rich, though."

The Doctor shrugged. "Haven't got a penny, either of us," the Doctor leaned slightly towards Astrid. "Stowaways"

Astrid sent them a confused look. "Kidding?"

"Seriously!" The Doctor assured her as Rose nodded her head.

"No!" Astrid breathed out.

The Doctor nodded his head. "Oh, yeah!"

Astrid looked between them again. "How'd you get on board?"

"Accident!" The Doctor shrugged. "We've got this sort of ship-thing, I was just rebuilding her, left the defences down, bumped into the Titanic, here we are," the Doctor explained. "Bit of a party so I asked Rose if she wanted to have a look."

Rose grinned. "I figured we deserved a party after the last year."

"I should report you," Astrid stated.

"Go on, then," the Doctor urged her.

Astrid look around before leaning closer to them. "I'll get you both a drink, on the house."

As Astrid walked off the laughter of a group caught Rose's attention so she followed their gaze to a couple sitting at a table and dressed up in purple cowboy outfits. Rose pulled the Doctor over to the couple.

"Just ignore them," they heard the male suggest as Rose and the Doctor sat down across from them.

"Something's tickled them," the Doctor stated.

The female leaned towards them. "They told us it was fancy dress," she explained. "Very funny, I'm sure."

The male placed his hand on her arm. "They're just picking on us because we haven't paid. We won our tickets in a competition," he explained to Rose and the Doctor.

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in By The Light Of The Asteroid!" She continued. "Do you ever watch By The Light Of The Asteroid?"

Rose shared her grin. "That's the one with the twins," she agreed. "That's wonderful."

"It's marvellous!" The women agreed.

Rose rolled her eyes at the Doctors blank look. "You wouldn't know cause you were tinkering with the TARDIS."

The women shared an understanding smile with Rose before her husband got them back to what they were discussing before. "But we're not good enough for that lot, they think we should be in steerage."

Rose scoffed as she took the Doctors sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and changed it to the right setting. "Off course they do, they've probably never had to work for their money before," she stated as she discreetly aimed the screwdriver at the other groups table and pushed the button.

The Doctor knew what she was going to do and watched as Rose pushed the button and the cork from the Champaign bottle popped off and coated the entire group in sticky liquid. They shared a grin as Rose put the screwdriver back in his pocket.

"Did you do that?" The women questioned.

Rose shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."

The couple started chuckling. "Oh, we like you both!" The women stated.

"We do!" The man agreed as he held out his hand to the Doctor. "I'm Morvin Van Hoff, this is my good woman Foon."

"Foon!" The Doctor agreed as he shook both their hands. "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is my good woman Rose," Rose rolled her eyes at him as she shook both their hands.

"Oh," Foon exclaimed. "I'm going to need one, time I've finished with that buffet. Have a buffalo wing!" She offered. "They must be enormous, these buffalo, so many wings!"

Rose was trying to hold back her laughter as they didn't know any different while the Doctor tried one of the buffalo wings.

"Attention, please, shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated, Red 6-7," an announcement came over the intercom.

Marvin and Foon started wiping their hands as Foon pulled some tickets out. "Red 6-7, that's us!" She exclaimed as they got up before turning to Rose and the Doctor. "Are you Red 6-7?"

The Doctor looked to Rose who nodded her head in agreement before turning back to the couple. "Might as well be!" He agreed as he pulled the psychic paper out.

"Come on, then!" Morvin insisted as he pulled the Doctor up who grabbed Rose's hand to help her up before Morvin put his arm around Foon. "We're going to Earth!"

They followed Morvin and Foon towards an elderly gentleman waving a red sign around. "Red 6-7, Red 6-7, this way, fast as you can," the elderly gentleman urged.

Astrid walked up to them. "I got you those drinks," she explained.

Rose grabbed her hand as the Doctor took the tray from her and Rose pulled her with them. "And we got you a treat, come on."

"Red 6-7, departing shortly," the elderly man explained.

The Doctor held out the psychic paper to the gentleman. "Red 6-7, plus two," he stated.

"Uh," the gentleman hesitated before stating. "Quickly sir, please, and take three teleport bracelets, if you would."

The Doctor handed one bracelet to Astrid as he placed another one around Rose's wrist then placed the last one around his own wrist.

"I'll get the sack," Astrid worried as she gripped Rose's hand.

"Brand new sky!" The Doctor urged.

Astrid grinned at him then Rose as she slipped the bracelet on her wrist.

They turned back to the elderly gentleman as he began talking. "To repeat, I am Mr Copper, the ship's historian, and I shall be taking you to Old London Town in the country of UK, ruled over by Good King Wenceslas," Rose covered her mouth with her hand as she let out a snort while the gentleman continued. "Now, human beings worship the great God, Santa, a creature with fearsome claws and his wife, Mary," Now Rose had her face buried in the Doctors side as she tried to hold her laughter in, the Doctor Though was appearing rather confused, surely they knew more about Earth than that. The gentleman was still speaking. "And every Christmas Eve, the people of UK go to war with the country of Turkey. They then eat the Turkey-people for Christmas dinner.

Like savages!"

The Doctor put up his hand as he questioned. "Excuse me, sorry, sorry, but um, where did you get all this from?"

"Well, I have a first-class degree in Earthonomics," Mr Copper stated proudly before readying the teleporter. "Now, stand by."

"And me! And me!" Everyone turned and looked as they heard a squeaky voice. "Red 6-7!" The red alien with spikes that Rose had noticed before came running up.

"Take a bracelet, please, sir," Mr Copper urged him.

The Doctor put his hand out as if to stop him as he stated. "But hold on, hold on," the Doctor complained. "What was your name?"

"Bannakaffalatta!" The alien answered.

"OK, Bannakaffalatta," the Doctor agreed. "But it's Christmas Eve down there, late-night shopping, tons of people, he's like a talking conker, no offence," the Doctor explained as he saw the aliens look. "But you'll cause a riot, cause the streets are gonna be packed with shoppers and parties and. . ." The Doctor broke off as they were teleported down. "Oh," he exclaimed when he looked around and found the streets deserted.

"Now as spending money," Mr Copper explained. "I have a credit card in Earth currency, if you want to buy trinkets or stockings or the local delicacy, which is known as beef, but don't stray too far, it could be dangerous! Any day now, they start boxing."

Rose had stopped trying to laugh when she realised that the streets were completely empty, they both continued looking around before she leaned closer to the Doctor. "Where is everybody?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know, it should be full. It should be busy, something's wrong."

"But it's beautiful," Astrid exclaimed, drawing their attention.

"Really?" The Doctor questioned. "Do you think so? It's just a street. The Pyramids are beautiful, and New Zealand."

The Doctor stopped talking when Rose nudged him. "She's never been on this planet before!" She reminded him.

Astrid continued as if she hadn't heard them. "But it's a different planet! I'm standing on a different planet!" She gestured around her. "There's concrete and shops, alien shops, real alien shops!" Then she pointed to the sky. "Look, no stars in the sky!" Rose blinked rapidly at that statement sent a feeling of déjà-vu through her. Astrid continued. "And it smells, it stinks! Oh, this is amazing!" She threw her arms around Rose. "Thank you!"

"Off course," Rose accepted before taking her hand and following behind the Doctor. "Come on, then, let's have a look."

The Doctor had noticed an elderly man in a newspaper stand and thought he might get some answers. "Hello, there, sorry, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

"Whoa, scared," the man explained.

"Right, yes," the Doctor agreed before looking back at him in confusion. "Scared of what?"

The man scoffed. "Where've you been living? London! At Christmas! Not safe, is it?"

The Doctors confusion only grew. "Why?"

"Well, it's them! Up above," the man gestured to the sky. "Look, Christmas before last, we had that big bloody spaceship, everyone standing on the roof! And then last year, that Christmas Star, electrocuting all over the place, draining the Thames."

Rose had been watching Astrid while the Doctor found answers. "This place is amazing!" Astride exclaimed again.

"And this year, God knows what," the man shrugged. "So everyone's scarpered, gone to the country. All except me, and Her Majesty."

They all turned to the telly as the reporter announced. "Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed that she will be staying in Buckingham Palace 'throughout the festive season, to show the people of London, 'and the world, that there's nothing to fear."

The man saluted. "God bless her, we stand vigil."

The Doctor nodded his head as he agreed. "Well, between you and me, I think Her Majesty's got it right. As far as I know, this year, nothing to worry about," Rose nudged him as she sent amusement through the bond. "Then again. . ." He amended before they were suddenly teleported back to the ship. "I was in mid-sentence!" The Doctor complained.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that, bit of a problem," the elderly gentleman excused. "If I could have your bracelets?"

"Apologies," the steward apologised as he approached them. "Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, we seem to have suffered a power fluctuation," Astrid hid behind Rose so as not to been seen. "If you'd like to return to the festivities, and on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, free drinks will be provided."

Foon grinned at the steward. "Thank you."

Once the steward had left Astrid turned to Rose and handed her the bracelet. "That was the best, the best!"

Rose grinned at her as she handed both bracelets to the Doctor while Astride went back to work.

The Doctor walked up to the steward and handed him the bracelets while he questioned. "What sort of power fluctuation?" The steward just dismissed him as he walked off so the Doctor turned to Rose and held out his hand. "Time for a dance," Rose grinned at him as she accepted.

The Doctor and Rose were dancing when she noticed the Doctors distracted gaze. She sighed as she nudged him, she waited until he looked down at her. "Go on then," she urged him. "I know there's something bothering you."

The Doctor grinned at her in apology as he led her from the dance floor. "There's just something not right about that power fluctuation."

He watched as the same add they saw on the portraits came on. "And I should know because my name is Max. The fastest, the furthest ' the best. My name is Max."

The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to unlock the portrait and opened it up before changing the picture to a view of the ship. He saw a sign flashing, stating that the shields were off line. Rose pointed out the windows where they could see meteoroids heading their way. The Doctor opened the intercom. "Is that the bridge?" He questioned when someone picked up. "I need to talk to the captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in, West zero by north two."

"Who is this?" The Captain demanded.

"Never mind that," the Doctor dismissed. "Your shields are down, check your scanners, Captain! You've got meteoroids coming in and no shielding!"

The Captain scoffed. "You have no authorisation, you will clear the comms at once."

"Yeah? Just look starboard!" The Doctor urged him.

The steward walked up to them then. "If you could come with me, sir," he stated as they started to drag the Doctor away.

Rose tried to stop them. "You've got to listen to him, at least look outside," she urged them. They just ignored her and kept marching the Doctor away.

"You've got a rockstorm heading for this ship, and no shields!" The Doctor continued to protest.

Rose managed to help the Doctor to escape them and he ran towards the stage. "Everyone, listen to me! This is an emergency! Get to the life. . .!" An angel placed its hand over the Doctors mouth as the crew picked the Doctor up and carried him away.

"Look out the windows!" The Doctor urged anyone to listen to him. "If you don't believe me, check the shields yourself!"

"Sir, I can vouch for them!" Astrid insisted as she tried to help Rose free the Doctor.

Then Morvin thought that he could try. "Steward, he's just had a bit too much to drink."

"Sir, something seems to have gone wrong, all the teleports have gone down," Mr Copper questioned as they moved passed him.

"Not now!" The steward dismissed.

Rose tried to help the Doctor get free. "Your all idiots if ya don't listen to him," they just ignored her as they continued to drag the Doctor through engineering.

"The shields are down, we're going to get hit!" The Doctor continued resisting as his worry for Rose increased.

"It seems to be working," the steward insisted.

Suddenly they heard the stuck up gentleman from before yelling out to them. "Oi, Steward! I'm telling you, the shields are down!"

Rose started to revise her opinion of him while the Doctor continued. "Listen to him, listen to him!"

The ship rocked suddenly as the meteoroids hit, the crew released the Doctor and he grabbed Rose and hit the ground while fires started. He tried to cover Rose with his own body as the ship continued to rock.

They heard Morvin in the background. "It's alright, it's alright, sweetheart," he assured Foon as the rocking stopped.

The Doctor slowly got to his feet as he used the torch setting on the sonic screwdriver to get a look at the damage. "It's stopping," he assured everyone as he helped Rose up. Rose in turn helped Astrid up as she had landed next to them. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Rose assured him.

"I think so," Astrid agreed.

The Doctor shook his head. "Bad name for a ship," he stated as he grinned at Rose. "Either that, or this suit is really unlucky."

Rose scoffed. "I don't think it's either, someone did this deliberately."

The Doctor bent down to check on one of the crew members and shook his head at the survivors to indicate that he couldn't feel a pulse.

"Everyone, ladies and gentleman, Bannakaffalatta I must apologise, on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners," the steward accepted. "We seem to have had a small collision."

Rose scoffed as she followed the Doctor over to a terminal so he could get in touch with the bridge.

"Small!" Morvin scoffed, echoing Rose's thoughts. "Do you know how much I paid. . ."

He was interrupted by the rich gentleman. ". . . How much I paid for my ticket?"

"If I could have silence," the steward insisted but everyone kept talking over the top of him. "QUIET!" He yelled out. "Thank you. I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruiseliners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience."

Astride noticed that Mr Copper was injured and ran over to help him while the Doctor continued working on the panel.

"But first, I would point out that we're very much alive," the steward reminded them.

"Doctor!" Astride called out to him. The Doctor and Rose went to help while the steward continued.

"It is, after all, a fine and sturdy ship," the steward assured them. "If you could all stay here, while I ascertain the exact nature of the situation," he explained as he moved towards a hatch.

The Doctor suddenly realised what he was doing and reached out to him. "Don't open it!"

But it was too late and the steward was pulled out along with the oxygen. The Doctor grabbed hold of a pipe as he pulled himself up to where Rose was holding on. He pulled out a length of rope from his pocket and made sure that Rose was secure before he checked on everyone else to see that they had all grabbed a hand hold.

The Doctor pushed himself over to the terminal he had been working on and used the sonic screwdriver to restore the oxygen shield. "Oxygen shield stabilised," the computerised voice confirmed.

"Everyone all right?" The Doctor called out as he helped Rose out of the rope and checked her over. "Rose?" He waited for her nod before continuing. "Astrid?"

"Yeah," she agreed.

The Doctor continued to check. "Foon? Morvin?"

They nodded their heads. "Yeah."

"Mr Copper? Bannakaffalatta?" The Doctor turned to them.

"Yes," they agreed together.

Then the Doctor turned to the rich gentleman. "You, what was your name?"

"Rickston Slade," he introduced in a haughty voice.

"You all right?" The Doctor confirmed.

He started fixing himself up. "Yeah, no thanks to that idiot."

Astrid stared at him in shock. "The steward just died!"

"Then he's a dead idiot!" The man snarled at her.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's arm as she looked like she was about to slap him. As it is he saw the glare she threw towards Risckston. "All right, calm down!" The Doctor insisted. "Just stay still, all of you, hold on."

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and went to check through the now open doorway.

"What happened?" Astrid questioned them. "How come the shields were down?"

Rose turned to her. "We don't think it was an accident," she stated. Rose covered her mouth with her free hand as she saw all the bodies floating around.

"How many dead?" Astrid stated as she saw the same as Rose.

The Doctor turned to her as he sent comfort through the bond. "We're alive, just focus on that. We will get you out of here, Astrid. I promise," the Doctor took her arm and shook her slightly. "Look at me," he urged. "I promise," Astrid look to Rose who gave her an encouraging smile before looking back to the Doctor and nodding. "Good," the Doctor stated as he looked around. "Now, if we can get to reception, we've got a spaceship tucked away, we can all get on board and. . ." Rose nudged him and pointed back outside. "Oh-h-h," he finished.

"What is it, what's wrong?" Astrid started panicking.

Rose placed an arm around her to calm her down and pointed outside. "That's our ship, over there."

Astrid started looking around the rubble. "Where?"

"There, that box, that little blue box," Rose sighed as she watched the TARDIS get further away from them.

Astrid stared at it in confusion. "That's a spaceship?"

"Oi, she's very sensitive about being called it," Rose warned. "Plus, she's not just a spaceship, she's our home."

Astrid's confusion only deepened. "It's a bit small."

"A bit distant," the Doctor put in. "Trouble is, once she's set adrift, she's programmed to lock on to the nearest centre of gravity and that would be the Earth," the Doctor took Rose's hand again and led her back to the intercom. He used the sonic to open communications. "Deck 22 to the bridge, deck 22 to the bridge, is there anyone there?" He flinched as something sparked nearby and placed his arm around Rose.

"This is the bridge," someone finally answered.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh! Hello, sailor, good to hear you! What's the situation up there?"

Rose winced as she heard the sailor groaning, he must be hurt. "We've got air," the sailor confirmed. "The oxygen field is holding but the Captain, he's dead. He did it, oh, my Vot, he took down the shields, there was nothing I could do, I tried, I did try," the sailor tried to convince them though Rose could hear that he sounded young.

"All right, stay calm," the Doctor tried to calm him down. "Tell me your name, what's your name?"

"Midshipman Frame," the sailor confirmed.

The Doctor grinned at Rose. "Nice to meet you, sir," he greeted. "What's the state of the engines?"

"They're, um, hold on," they could hear him checking something as he screamed in agony.

The Doctor and Rose shared a worried look as the Doctor turned back to the intercom. "Have you been injured?"

"I'm all right," Frame insisted before exclaiming. "Oh, my Vot, they're cycling down."

The Doctor rubbed his eye as he realised something. "That's a Nuclear Storm drive, yes?"

"Yeah," Frame confirmed.

The Doctor stared at Rose as his fear for her safety skyrocketed. "The moment they're gone, we lose orbit," he explained.

"The planet," Frame realised.

Rose's fear for her planet started skyrocketing to match the Doctors. "All those people."

"Oh, yes," the Doctor agreed. "If we hit the planet, the Nuclear Storm will explode and wipes out life on Earth."

Rose squeezed his hand. "You'll think of something, you always do," she assured him.

The Doctor grinned at her as he got to work. "Midshipman, I need you to fire up the Engine Containment Field and feed it back into the core."

"That's never gonna work!" Frame argued.

"Trust me," the Doctor urged him. "It'll keep the engines going till I get to the bridge."

They heard some of the other passangers gasp as Foon stated. "We're all gonna die!"

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr Copper questioned.

"We are, we're gonna die!" Foon started panicking.

The Doctor started trying to calm everyone down as they were talking over each other. "OK, OK, just hush!" He sighed when no one listened to him until a loud shrill whistle sounded that shut everyone up. He turned to Rose impressed before turning back to the scared passengers. "First things first, one, we're gonna climb through this ship, B - no, two - we're gonna reach the bridge, Three, or C, we're gonna save the Titanic and coming in a very low four, or D, or that little "iv" in brackets they use on footnotes - why?" He explained to them. "Right, then! Follow me," he grabbed Rose's hand.

"Hang on a minute," Rickston insisted. "Who put you in charge? And who the hell are you, anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor explained as he walked towards him. "I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous, I'm 903 years old, and I'm the man who's going to save your lives and all six billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?"

Rickston swallowed hard as everyone else looked suitably chastened. "No," Rickston accepted.

"In that case allons-y!" The Doctor grinned suddenly as he grabbed Rose's hand again. This time everyone else followed them.

Rose had to bite her lip to stop from jumping the Doctor, this was so not a good time but when he pulled on his Time Lord side like that with the universe swirling in his eyes, it really turned her on.

The Doctor looked sideways at her.** "You need to calm down or I might end up pulling you into the next cupboard we see, never mind the people we have with us."**

Rose took a deep breathe as she sent him a shy grin. **"Sorry, you just seem so intense when you get like that."**

The Doctor sent her a caress through the bond as he noticed a stairway. He lead them over and let go of Rose's hand as he tried to push the door open. He had to use all his strength to get the door open but he finally succeeded as he looked into the stairwell and noticed debris on them. "Careful," he cautioned them as he grabbed Rose's hand and stepped through. "Follow us."

As the Doctor and Rose led them up the stairs Mr Copper thought that now would be a good time to share his knowledge of earth. "It's rather ironic, but this is very much in the spirit of Christmas," he started off. "It's a festival of violence, they say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric!"

"Actually, that's not true," the Doctor broke in as he started moving debris out of the way as they moved up the stairs. "Christmas is a time of peace and thanksgiving and. . ." He broke off as he heard Rose scoff.

"What are you on about?" Rose reminded him. "Our Christmases are always like this!"

The Doctor was about to retort when he moved a piece of debris and found a host. "We've got a Host, strength of ten! If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble."

"We can do robotics!" Morvin insisted. "Both of us!"

"We work on the Milk Market back on Sto, it's all robot staff," Foon explained.

The Doctor nodded to the host. "See if you can get it working," he grinned at them as he continued up the stairs. "Let's have a look."

They were stopped by a pile of debris in their way. "It's blocked," Astrid stated.

The Doctor rolled his eyes as yet another person stated the obvious. Rose nudged him and sent a glare towards him. "So what do we do?" The Doctor questioned them.

"We shift it," Rose pointed out.

"That's my Rose!" The Doctor agreed as he grinned at her. "Rickston! Mr Copper and you, Bannakaffalatta," he sighed as he looked towards the small red, spiky alien. "Look, can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."

The alien frowned. "No! Bannakaffalatta!" He insisted.

The Doctor sighed again. "All right then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap, in the middle, see if you can get through."

Banakaffalatta moved up to see. "Easy, good!" He insisted as he started to crawl through.

The ship rocked again and some debris started falling down. "This whole thing could come crashing down!" Rickston warned as the ship settled again.

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot, did you get that message?" The Doctor questioned.

Rickston's look turned to confusion. "No, what message?"

"Shut up," Rose and the Doctor called to him at the same time.

"Bannakaffalatta made it!" They heard him shout out as he broke through.

Astrid pushed the Doctor aside and started going through the hole. "I'm small enough, I can get through," she insisted.

"Careful," the Doctor warned.

"I'm fine," Astrid assured them as she made it through.

The Doctor turned to Rose. "Your next," the Doctor insisted. Rose was about to argue when the Doctor stopped her. "You can help on the other side."

Rose finally conceded and started to push her way through. Once she was almost there Astrid reached down and helped her through.

"Thing is, how are Mr and Mrs Fatso going to get through that gap?" Rickston scoffed.

The Doctor glared at him as he started moving debris. "We make the gap bigger, so start!"

"Hey, hey!" Morvin assured Foon. "Come on, sweetheart, don't listen to him."

Foon shook her head. "No, but it's all my fault, though, the tickets."

"We won them, fair and square," Morvin insisted.

Foon nodded her head. "I know, I never told you, I dialled the competition line 5,000 times. That's 5,000 credits, I might as well have paid for the tickets. I've been hiding the vone bill for months now."

Morvin stared at her in shock. "5,000 credits? You spent 5,000 credits?"

"Don't hate me," Foon cried out but instead off expecting to be yelled at he started laughing. "What's so funny?" She demanded.

"5,000?" Morvin stated as he continued to laugh.

Foon just looked at him in confusion. "We'll never pay that off."

"I know!" Morvin assured her. "We'll have to work for 20 years, you mad bloody woman!"

"You're not cross?" Foon insisted.

Morvin tried to calm himself down. "Does it matter? Well, look at us!" He indicated the destroyed ship. "You drive me barmy! I don't half love you, Mrs Van Hoff," he stated as he noticed her getting upset. "C' mere," he kissed her as they started laughing again.

Rickston scoffed. "What happened, did they find a doughnut?"

The Doctor was about to respond when he heard Rose's voice come through. "We can clear it from this side, just tell us if it starts moving!"

Astrid started to help her when she noticed that something was wrong. "Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?" She called out as she moved to his side.

Rose continued working as she shamelessly eaves dropped on their conversation.

"Sh!" Banakaffalatta insisted.

"What is it?" Astride questioned quietly.

Banakaffalatta looked pained. "Can't say," he insisted.

Astrid's confusion grew. "Are you hurt?"

Banakaffalatta looked down. "Ashamed."

"Of what?" Astrid asked in confusion.

"Poor Bannakaffalatta!" He stated as he opened his shirt to show her.

Astrid finally realised what was wrong. "You're a cyborg!"

"Had accident," he explained. "Long ago, secret."

"No, but everything's changed, now!" Astrid tried to assure him. "Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law, back on Sto, you can even get married."

Banakaffalatta grinned. "Marry you?"

Astrid returned his grin. "Well, you can buy me a drink first!" She insisted as she pushed a few buttons on his chest. "Come on, let's recharge you, just stay there for a bit."

"Tell no-one," Banakaffalatta insisted.

Astrid turned back to him. "I promise," she assured him as she moved back to helping Rose.

"What's going on up there?" The Doctor yelled out to them.

Rose jumped in fright as she nodded at Banakaffalatta to assure him that she wouldn't tell as well. She laughed as she yelled back. "I believe that Bannakaffalatta and Astrid just got engaged."

He heard Banakaffalatta and Astrid laughing with her as he continued to move the debris.

"Almost done!" The Doctor heard Morvin call out.

"Good, good, good!" The Doctor assured them as he moved back to the intercom to check on Frame. "Mr Frame, how's things?"

Frame shook his head. "Not so good, Doctor I've got life-signs all over the ship but they're going out, one by one."

"What is it?" The Doctor questioned. "Are they losing air?"

"No, we'll I'm not sure, but it's the host," Frame explained. "It's something to do with the Host," The Doctor looked to Morvin just as they got the host working.

Morvin stood back and grinned. "It's working!"

"Kill," the host suddenly called out as he grabbed Morvin around the neck.

The Doctor ran back down the stairs. "Turn it off, turn it off!" He called out.

"kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill," the host kept repeating.

Foon tried to get the host to let go of Morvin's neck as she cried out. "Doctor!"

The Doctor finally made it to them as he pulled his sonic screwdriver out. "Go!" He urged Foon as he tried to help Morvin. "Hands frozen, can't stop it! Come on, double deadlock!"

"kill, kill," the host kept repeating.

The Doctor had to use all his strength which was a lot more than the others as he finally managed to get the hosts hands off Morvin neck. "Go upstairs!" He urged him.

"Run!" Foon called out. "Darling, run," Foon grabbed Morvin's hand and ran with him up the stairs.

"Information," the host stated in the same monotone voice. "Kill, kill, kill, kill."

The Doctor looked back up the stairs. "Rickston! Get them through!"

"No chance!" Rickston denied and he threw himself into the gap.

"Rickston!" Mr Copper complained.

Foon finally caught up to them and stared at the gap in horror. "I'll never get through there!"

"Yes, you can," Mr Copper assured her. "Let me go first," Mr Copper explained as he went through and tried to push the debris out a bit for them.

The Doctor dodged the hosts attack as he ran to the intercom. It's the Host, they've gone berserk! Can you cope up there?" The Doctor couldn't wait around for a response as the host was catching up to him.

"No, I'm stuck!" Foon insisted as Mr Copper, Rose and Astrid tried to pull her through.

"Come on!" Astrid tried to encourage. "You can do it!"

Foon shook her head. "I can't," she insisted as the debris started moving.

Mr Copper grabbed hold of it to hold it up. "It's gonna collapse," he called out as he turned to the only person not helping. "Rickston, Vot damn it, help me!"

"No way!" Rickston denied as Foon finally managed to get through.

The Doctor reached the pile of debris and found Morvin still standing there. "Morvin, get through!"

"Ow," Morvin yelled out as he banged his head on the way through.

The host unfortunately was still heading their way. "Kill, kill."

The debris moved again as Astride tried to help Morvin through. "Doctor, he's stuck," she exclaimed while Rose tried to help Mr Copper to hold the debris up.

"Mr Van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me," the Doctor apoligised as he put his hands on Morvins backside and tried to help push him through.

Astride finally managed to help Morvin get through. "That's it, we've got you!" She assured him.

When the Doctor didn't immediately follow behind Morvin, Rose started to get worried. "Doctor!" She called out. "Come on!"

"Information override!" The Doctor yelled out to the host. "You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure?"

Rose saw Mr Copper straining and she was starting to wear thin as well. "Come on, Doctor, we can't hold it!"

"Information deck 31," the host told him as he continued to move forward.

"Thank you!" The Doctor stated as he slipped through the hole. The host tried to follow when the Doctor turned to Rose and Mr Copper. "Let go!" He ordered them and the debris fell on the hosts head, stopping it.

They made it into a dinning area that looked like it was free of hosts. "Morvin, look, food!" Foon exclaimed.

"Oh, great, someone's happy," Rickston snarked.

"Don't have any, then!" Morvin shoot back as Rose grinned at him.

The Doctor picked up the nearest intercom. "Mr Frame? Are you still there?"

"Yes, sir," Frame answered back. "But I've got Host outside, I've sealed the door."

"They've been programmed to kill, why would anyone do that?" The Doctor questioned.

"That's not the only problem, Doctor," Frame stated. "I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means no-one can get in. I'm sealed off, even if you can fix the Titanic, you can't get to the bridge."

The Doctor sighed. "Yeah, right, fine! One problem at a time," the Doctor insisted. "What is on deck 31?"

"Er, that's down below, it's nothing," Frame insisted. "It's just the Host Storage Deck, that's where we keep the robots."

"What's that?" The Doctor questioned as he brought up a map of the ship. "You see that panel of black? It's registering nothing, no power, no heat, no light."

"Never seen it before," Frame insisted.

The Doctor put on his glasses as he took a closer look. "100% shielded, what's down there?"

"I'll try intensifying the scanner," Frame explained.

The Doctor took his glasses back off. "Let me know if you find anything and keep those engines going!"

Astrid walked up to them and handed Rose a plate. "Saved you some," she stated as she noticed the Doctor about to object. "You might be a Time King from Gaddabee, but you still need to eat."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed as he helped himself to one of the entrée while he felt Rose's amusement as she got his speech wrong. "Thanks."

The Doctor sat down and pulled Rose in between his legs as he started massaging her shoulders.

Astrid sat down next to them. "Though you look good for 903."

Rose scoffed. "You should see him first thing in the morning."

"OK," Astrid agreed before she realised what she'd said. "I'm sorry, didn't mean that how it came out," Rose sent her a comforting smile to let her know that she understood. "So, are you an alien like him?"

Rose shook her head. "No, I was born and raised on earth," she explained.

"Doctor!" Mr Copper interrupted as he came to sit beside them. "Must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."

"So it is," the Doctor agreed. "Merry Christmas."

Astrid shook her head. "This Christmas thing, what's it all about?"

The Doctor swallowed the bite he had as he explained. "Long story, I should know, I was there. I got the last room."

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "Off course you did."

"But if the planet's waking up, can't we signal them?" Mr Copper continued. "They could send up a rocket or something."

Rose looked at him in confusion. "They don't have spaceships, there not that advanced."

"No, I've read about it," Mr Copper insisted. "They have shuffles, space shuffles."

"Mr Copper, this degree in Earthonomics, where's it from?" The Doctor questioned.

"Honestly?" Mr Copper insisted.

The Doctor nodded his head. "Just between us."

Mr Copper sighed. "Mrs Golightly's Happy Travelling University And Dry Cleaners."

Astrid gasped. "You lied to the company? To get the job?"

Mr Copper sighed again. "I wasted my life on Sto. I was a travelling salesman, always on the road, and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it, not even a home and Earth sounded so exotic."

"Mm, yeah, I suppose it is, yeah," the Doctor agreed.

Rose scoffed. "Only parts of it, but I was born on earth, I suppose for others it does seem exotic."

"So you know it well?" Astrid questioned. "Both of you."

The Doctor sighed as Rose grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "I was sort of, um, a few years ago, I was sort of made, well, sort of homeless, and there was the Earth," the Doctor explained.

"The thing is, if we survive this, there'll be police, and all sorts of investigations, now the minimum penalty for space lane fraud is ten years in jail," Mr Copper explained. "Well, I'm an old man, I won't survive ten years!"

Rose was about to offer to take him anywhere he wanted cause she liked the old man when they heard banging come from the doors.

"The Host!" The Doctor exclaimed as he placed Rose's plate down and helped her up. "Move! Come on!"

The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to open the only passable door and they entered into a cavernous room and the only way across was a piece of metal that spanned from their side to the other.

"Is that the only way across?" Rickston complained.

"On the other hand, it is a way across," the Doctor stated.

Astrid looked down towards the bottom. "The engines are open," she warned them.

"Nuclear Storm drive," the Doctor explained. "As soon as it stops, the Titanic falls."

Morvin pointed to the metal beam. "But that thing, it'll never take our weight."

"You're going last, mate," Rickston stated.

Rose glared at him, the more he said the more she was starting to hate Rickston.

The Doctor held her hand in case she thought about hitting him as he turned to Morvin and Foon. "It's nitrofine metal, it's stronger than it looks," he assured them.

Morvin shook his head. "All the same, Rickston's right, me and Foon should go la. . ." He broke off as the railing he had been leaning on gave way and he fell into the storm drive.

"Morvin!" Foon called out as they all watched Morvin fall. Rose covered her mouth with her hand as she buried her face in the Doctors chest.

"I told you! I told you!" Rickston cried out.

Rose turned her glare on him. "Shut up! Just shut up!"

"Bring him back!" Foon cried out. "Can't you bring him back?" Foon turned to the Doctor. "Bring him back, Doctor!"

The Doctor placed his arm around Foon. "I can't, I'm sorry, I can't."

"You promised me!" Foon reminded him.

The Doctors face fell. "I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Mr Copper hated to break it up but they could hear the hosts heading their way. "Doctor, I rather think those things have got our scent."

"I'm not waiting," Rickston insisted as he started across the bridge.

"Careful!" The Doctor warned as Rickston almost slipped off. "Take it slowly!"

The ship shook and Rickston almost slipped off again. "Vot help me," he called out in fear.

"You're OK!" The Doctor assured him. "A step at a time. Come on, you can do it," the Doctor insisted as he took off his bow tie.

"kill, kill," they heard the host getting closer.

Mr Copper tapped the Doctor on his shoulder. "They're getting nearer," he explained.

"I'll seal us in," the Doctor explained as he used the sonic on the door.

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?" Mr Copper warned.

The Doctor grinned at him as he closed and locked the doors. "Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced."

That seemed to throw Mr Copper off. "Oh!"

Rickston almost fell again but managed to keep hold. "I'm OK," he assured them.

Rose sighed. "Oh, great," she scoffed as she helped Astrid comfort Foon.

"Maybe he's all right, maybe there's a gravity curve down there, or something, maybe he's just unconscious," Foon tried to explain.

"I'm sorry, Foon," Astrid apoligised. "He's gone."

Foon started crying in earnest as they pulled her into a three way hug. "What am I gonna do without him?"

Rickston had finally made it across. "Yes! Oh, yes! Who's good?" He gloated.

The Doctor ignored him. "Bannakaffalatta, you go next."

"Bannakaffalatta small!" He agreed as he started to rush across.

"Slowly!" The Doctor warned.

They heard thumping on the door. "They've found us!" Mr Copper warned everyone.

The Doctor reached for Astrid's hand. "Astrid, get across, right now."

"What about Rose?" Astrid complained.

"Just do it, go on!" The Doctor urged.

The Doctor turned to look at the door. "Mr Copper, we can't wait, don't argue," the Doctor warned as he directed him across. The Doctor walked over to Rose. "You have to go," He warned her.

"What about Foon?" She worried.

"I'll make sure she gets across," He assured her as he directed her across before turning back to Foon. "Foon, you've got to get across right now."

Foon shook her head in disagreement. "What for? What am I going to do without him?"

"Doctor!" Rickston called out. "The door's locked!"

They ignored him as he focused on Foon. "Just think, what would he want, eh?"

"He don't want nothing, he's dead!" Foon argued.

"Doctor! I can't open the door!" Rickston tried again. "We need the whirring key thing of yours."

The Doctor pulled Foon into a hug as he looked to the others. "I can't leave her!"

Rickston scoffed. "She'll get us all killed if we can't get out!"

The Doctor looked to Rose who was almost half way across and watched as her face fell before turning back to Foon. "Mrs Van Hoff! I am coming back for you. All right?" He assured her.

Banakaffalatta was helping Astrid get across. "Too many people!" He complained.

"Oi! Don't get spiky with me," the Doctor warned. "Keep going!"

Astrid just made it across when the metal beam moved a bit. "It's gonna fall!"

"It's just settling," the Doctor assured all of them. "Keep going."

They all suddenly realised that the thudding had stopped. "They've stopped," Astrid pointed out.

"Gone away?" Suggested Banakaffalatta.

Rose turned to the Doctor. "They'd never give up, would they?"

Rickston scoffed again. "Never mind that, keep coming!" He urged.

"Where have they gone?" The Doctor wondered. "Where are the Host?"

Mr Copper looked up. "I'm afraid we forgot the traditions of Christmas, that angels have wings."

Everyone looked up to see the host floating down to them. "Information. Kill," as they took off their halos.

"Arm yourself!" The Doctor ordered as he handed Rose a metal pipe and took one himself. "All of you!"

They started trying to hit the halos away when Astrid cried out. "No!" As she was hit in the arm.

"Argh!" The Doctor screamed as he too was hit in the arm.

"Ow!" Rose exclaimed as she was hit in the thigh.

Then Mr Copper was hit on his back. "Ohhh!" He cried out.

Astrid started crying. "I can't," she complained.

"Bannakaffalatta, stop!" Banakaffalatta explained. "Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta cyborg!" He threw open his shirt and a pulse escaped, disabiling the hosts.

The Doctor turned back the way they had come as one of the hosts fell on the metal beam. "Electromagnetic pulse took out the robotics!" The Doctor explained. "Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant!" He exclaimed until he turned back and realised that Banakaffalatta was down.

Astrid ran up to comfort him. "He's used all his power," she explained.

"Did good?" He questioned.

Astrid smiled at him. "You saved our lives."

"Bannakaffalatta happy," he assured her.

Astrid looked around. "We can recharge you, get you to a power point, plug you in."

"Too late," Banakaffalatta explained.

"No, but. . ." Astrid broke off as her tears started to fall. "You've got to get me that drink, remember?"

Banakaffalatta grinned. "Pretty girl," he died with a smile.

Mr Copper made it across and reached out for something on Banakaffalatta's chest. "I'm sorry, forgive me," He apoligised as he removed something.

"Leave him alone," Astrid warned as Rose made it across and pulled Astrid into her arms for a hug.

"It's the EMP transmitter, he'd want us to use it," Mr Copper explained. "I used to sell these things, they'd always give me a bed for the night, in the Cyborg Caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can use it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta might have saved us all."

Rickston scoffed again. "Do you think? Try telling him that," he pointed out as the host started moving again.

"Information. Reboot," the host stated as everyone turned to look at him.

"Use the EMP!" Rickston complained.

Mr Copper tried but it wouldn't work. "It's dead," he explained.

"It's gotta have emergency!" Astrid cried out as she held out her hands for it.

"No! No! No! Hold on!" The Doctor complained as he started backing towards the others while keeping an eye on the host. "Hold the line! Loophole! Security Protocol 10!. . . 666?. . . Uh, 21?. . .4, 5, 6, 7, 8?" the host got ready to throw its halo at them. "I don't know, 42?"

Rose rolled her eyes at him. "One?" She yelled out.

Everyone was shocked when that stopped the host. "Information. State request."

"Good!" The Doctor agreed. "Right, you've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information. No witnesses," the host explained.

The Doctors look turned to confusion. "But this ship's gonna fall on the Earth and kill everyone, the human race has nothing to do with the Titanic, so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information. Incorrect," the host disagreed.

The Doctor just got more confused. "But why do you want to destroy the Earth?"

"Information. It is the plan," the host explained.

"What plan?" The Doctor continued to question.

"Information. Protocol grants you only three questions, these three questions have been used," the host pointed out.

The Doctors brow rose. "Well, you could've warned me!"

"Information. Now you will die," the host got ready to hurt the Doctor.

A rope suddenly appeared around the host. "You're coming with me," Foon stated as she jumped of the beam with the host.

"NO!" The Doctor yelled out as he felt Rose's grief spike as well. "No more," he assured everyone else as he sent Rose reassurance through their bond to try and calm her down.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and led everyone through the hallway until he came to a fork in the way. "Right, get yourselves up to reception one, once you're there, Mr Copper, you've got staff access to the computer, try to find a way of transmitting an SOS," the Doctor handed the EMP transmitter to Astrid. "Astrid, your in charge of this, once its powered up, it'll take out Host within 50 yards, but then it needs 60 seconds to recharge, got it," the Doctor handed it over as he changed the settings on his sonic before handing it to Rickston. "Rickston, take this, I've pre-set it, just hold down that button, it'll open the doors. Do NOT lose it, you got that? Now go open the next door. Go on, go!" The Doctor urged as Rickston did as he was told with out complaining for once. "All right! Mr Copper, I need you fighting fit," the Doctor explained as he pulled a first aid kit down and patched him up as best he could. "Astrid, where's the power points?"

"Under the comms," she answered in confusion.

The Doctor followed her over to the power point and helped her to plug it in. "It'll beep when it's ready, that blue light comes on, there."

Astrid looked between Rose and the Doctor. "What about you and Rose. You're talking as if you're not coming with us."

"There's something down on deck 31, I'm gonna find out what it is, and I can't leave Rose behind," he explained as he looked to Rose. "Just before this we had been separated for a year and it almost killed us."

Astrid looked between them again, it wasn't until this moment that she realised how many times the Doctor always made sure Rose was right by his side. "What if the two of you meet a Host?"

The Doctor grinned at Rose. "Well, then we'll just have some fun!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Sounds like the two of you do this kind of thing all the time."

"Not by choice," the Doctor explained. "All we do is travel, that's what we are, just travellers," he took Rose's hand as she walked up to them.

Rose grinned at Astrid. "Imagine! Not having to pay for tax, bills, and no boss but him," she nudged the Doctor before leaning towards Astrid and stage whispering. "I let him think he's the boss."

"Oi," The Doctor complained but then returned the grin that Rose threw him. "Just the open sky," the Doctor finished.

Astride looked between them as she thought. "I'm sort of unemployed now," she pointed out. "I was thinking, that blue box is kind of small, but I could squeeze in like a stowaway."

"It's not always safe," the Doctor warned her.

Astrid shrugged. "I've got no-one back on Sto, no family, just me. So what d' you think? Can I come with the two of you?"

The Doctor sighed as he looked towards Rose who just shrugged her shoulders, leaving the dicision up to him. He looked back to Astrid who had a hopeful look on her face. "I don't think we're ready to have anyone else with us at the moment, like I explained, we're still recovering from another disaster."

Rose placed her hand on Astrid's arm as her face fell. "We can help you find employment with a good paying job so you could travel the stars anyway."

Astrid sent her a comforting smile as she nodded. "That's sounds wonderful," she agreed.

The ship shook again so the Doctor got on the intercom. "Mr Frame, are you still with us?"

"It's the engines, sir," Frame explained. "Final phase! There's nothing more I can do, we've only eight minutes left."

"Don't worry, we'll get there," the Doctor assured him.

Frame sounded confused as he answered. "But the bridge is sealed off!"

"Yeah, yeah!" The Doctor agreed. "Working on it! We'll get there, Mr Frame, somehow!" He turned to Astrid. "You charged up!" Astrid nodded as they ran back to the others. "Mr Copper, look after her," he pointed to Astrid. "Astrid, look after him," the Doctor pointed to Mr Copper then he turned to the other one. "Rickston, erm look after yourself and we'll see you again, I promise," the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and squeezed it as he led them in the opposite direction of the others.

The Doctor and Rose ran back across the metal beam and down the stairs until they met hosts in front, they turned around and found hosts behind them as well. They both picked up a pot each as they put their backs together to keep an eye on all the host.

"Wait, wait, wait!" The Doctor called out. "Security Protocol One! Do you hear me? One! One!" The host stop advancing on them. "OK, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save my life, am I right?"

Rose rolled her eyes as the host answered. "Information. Correct."

"No, that wasn't one of them, I didn't mean it, that's not fair!" The Doctor complained. "Can I start again?"

Rose groaned as another question was answered by the host. "Information. No."

"No, no, no, no, that wasn't a question either!" The Doctor complained as he started pacing. "Blimey, one question left, one question," he stopped in front of the host suddenly. "So! You've been given orders to kill the survivors, but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not us, we're not passengers, we're not staff, go on, scan us, you must have bio-records, no such people on board, we don't exist, therefore, you can't kill us, therefore, we're stowaways, and stowaways should be arrested and taken to the nearest figure of authority, and I reckon the nearest figure of authority is on deck 31," the Doctor looked proudly at Rose as he finished as he urged Rose to drop the pot. "Final question, am I right?"

"Information. Correct," the host confirmed.

The Doctor grinned at Rose. "Brilliant! Take us to your leader! I've always wanted to say that."

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand again as the host led them to deck 31. They walked in to find the entire deck in rubble. "Wow," The Doctor explained. "Now that is what you'd call a fixer-upper," he grinned at Rose who gave him a small grin back before he turned back to the host. "Well then, Host with the most, this ultimate authority of yours, who is it?" Rose and the Doctor turned as a host pushed a button and the doors on one of the chambers opened up. "Oh, that's clever, that's an Omnistate Impact Chamber," the Doctor explained as someone came out of the container. "Indestructible! You could survive anything, in there, you could sit through a supernova, or a shipwreck. But only one person could have the power and the money to hide themselves on board like this. And I should know, cause. . ."

"My name is Max," the person who came out completeted as his gold tooth glinted at them. He was also a head on a robotic body with tubes and wires all around him.

Rose looked surprised. "It really does that?" She questioned. "I just thought it was special effects."

Max turned to the host. "Who the hell are they?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Rose, hello!" The Doctor greeted as Rose waved to him.

"Information. Stowaways," the host stated.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Well. . ."

Max interrupted him. "Kill them," he ordered.

The Doctor held out his arms as he tried to protect Rose. "Oh, no, no, no, no, wait! But you can't, not now, come on! Max!" He grinned at him. "You'll give me so much good material, like how to get a head in business," the Doctor laughed as he heard Rose snort as she tried to hold back her own laughter. "See, head, head, head, No?" He looked around but obviously the host wouldn't laugh cause they're robots and Max didn't look like he found it funny. "Rose liked it!"

"Oh! The office joker," Max realised. "I like a funny man, no-one's been funny with me for years."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Gee, I wonder why."

Max ignored her as he explained. "176 years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but nice wheels," the Doctor complemented.

"No!" Max denied. "A life-support system, in a society that despises cyborgs, I've had to hide away for years, running the company by hologram," he turned to the host. "Host! Situation report!"

"Information. Titanic is still in orbit," they stated.

Max's look turned to frustration. "Let me see, we should've crashed by now, what's gone wrong?" The Doctor and Rose got out of his way as he moved to the edge and looked down into the engines. "The engines are still running, they should have stopped!"

The Doctor stood next to Max as he kept Rose behind him. "When they do, the Earth gets roasted, I don't understand. What's Earth got to do with it?"

"This interview is terminated," Max stated in frustration as he moved back.

"No, no, no, no!" The Doctor denied as he ran in front of Max to stop him. "Hold on, hold on, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! I can work it out, it's like a task, I'm your apprentice, just watch me," he winked at Rose as he started. "So! The business is failing and you wreck the ship, so that makes things even worse. Oh! Yes!" He seemed to have worked it out. "No. . . Yes! The business isn't failing, it's failed, past tense!"

Max seemed to be impressed. "My own board voted me out, stabbed me in the back."

Rose scoffed quietly. "If you had a back."

The Doctor grabbed her hand and warned her through their bond not to draw attention to herself. "So! You scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors, just in case anyone's rumbled you and the board find their shares halved in value," the Doctor continued. "Oh, but that's not enough!" The Doctor realised. "No, cause if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home, scandal! The business is wiped out!"

"And the whole board thrown in jail, for mass murder," Max finished on a grin as he moved closer to the Doctor and Rose.

The Doctor pointed back at the container. "While you sit there, safe inside the Impact Chamber."

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins, and enough off world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Penhaxico Two," Max confirmed. "Where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of metal."

"So that's the plan," the Doctor stated. "A retirement plan!" The Doctor spat out. "2, 000 people on this ship, six billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered, and why? Because Max Capricorn is a loser!"

Max's look turned to anger. "I never lose!" He spat back.

The Doctor scoffed. "You can't even sink the Titanic!"

Max's grin came back. "Oh, but I can, Doctor! I can cancel the engines from here," he explained.

An alarm started blaring as an electronic voice stated. "Engines closing. Engines closing."

The Doctor started panicking. "You can't do this!" He denied.

"Host, hold them!" Max commanded as the host grab their arms and pulled them away from Max. "Not so clever now, Doctor," Max gloated. "A shame we couldn't work together, you're rather good.

All that banter, yet not a word wasted," Then he turned his attention to Rose and looked her up and down. "Then again, I might just take your bit of skirt of you."

Rose sneered at him. "Like hell you will."

"Time for me to retire," Max stated as he ignored her. "The Titanic is falling, the sky will burn. Let the Christmas inferno commence," he grinned before ordering the host. "Oh! Host kill them."

The host prepared to kill them, when Astrid's voice came out of no where. "Mr Capricorn!" She called out as she started the fork lift. "I resign," she moved the fork lift towards him.

"Astrid, don't!" The Doctor warned her as the host started throwing their halos at her. She was trying to push Max but his breaks seemed to be holding. "He's cut the brake line!" The Doctor warned her.

"Astrid!" Rose cried out as Astrid lifted Max of the ground and fell with him over the edge. Rose reached out and felt the Bad Wolf stiring as she started to glow. Suddenly Astrid appeared next to them as she fell to the ground. "I did it," Rose stated as the glow around her began to fade.

Once it was gone completely the Doctor ran up to Rose to check her over. "Are you alright?"

Rose grinned at him. "I saved her."

Astrid sat up and blinked. "What happened?" She questioned as she looked over to them. "You were glowing."

Rose nodded her head. "I saved you," she explained.

"Titanic falling," a computerised voice reminded them. "Voyage terminated. Voyage terminated."

The Doctor turned to Astrid as he helped Rose up. "Hold onto something, it's gonna be a bumpy ride," he explained as he pulled Rose to him while a host grabbed his arms on either side. Rose placed her arms around the Doctors neck as the host lifted them up towards the bridge. The host put their arms out in front of them as they burst through the floor of the bridge.

"Argh!" Frame cried out as he saw the host before he noticed the Doctor and Rose crawling out of the hole that had been made.

"Deadlock broken," the computer warned.

The Doctor finally got to his feet and helped Rose up. "Midshipman Frame!" The Doctor greeted. "At last!"

Frame looked between them and the host. "But the Host?"

"Controller dead, they devert to the next highest authority," the Doctor explained. "And that's me!" The Doctor continued as he moved to the computers.

"There's nothing we can do, there's no power, the ship's gonna fall," Frame insisted.

Rose led Frame over to a chair that she had righted so she could take a look at his wound while the Doctor delt with the falling ship. "Just, trust him," Rose tried to assure him.

"Titanic falling," the computer reminded them.

The Doctor continued getting the ships engines ready for a reboot as he sent Rose a thanks through the bond. "What's your first name?" He questioned Frame.

"Alonso," The man stated in confusion.

The computer reminded them again. "Titanic falling."

The Doctor stared at him in shock as he took the helm. "You're kidding me."

"Why?" Alonzo questioned in confusion.

The Doctor grinned at Rose before looking back to Alonzo. "That's something else I've always wanted to say. Allons-y, Alonso!" Rose laughed at him as he steered the ship.

Rose and Alonzo held on as the hull of the ship started to burn up in the atmosphere before breaking through for them to be able to see that they were heading towards the UK.

A beeping started alerting them so the Doctor pulled up the map to see where they were heading for. He rolled his eyes as he realised exactly where they were gonna land. He reached over and dialled a number as he picked up the phone. "Hello, yes, could you get me Buckingham Palace?" The Doctor waited impatiently as he was connected. "Listen to me, security Code 771, now get out of there!" He warned them as he hung up.

The computerised voice came on. "Engine active. Engine active," it informed them.

The Doctor pulled back on the helm as far back as he could and Rose watched as they just missed Buckingham Palace as the titanic lifted back into outer space. Alonzo rang the bell as they all laughed and the Doctor used one hand to pull Rose into his side as he steered the ship back above earth.

"Used the heat of re-entry to fire up the Secondary Storm Drive," the Doctor explained as he set the titanic to cruise. "Unsinkable, that's me."

Alonso huffed out a laugh. "We made it."

Rose's smile fell slightly. "Not all of us," she reminded them as she thought of all the people that had died for one mans greed and revenge.

The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand as he led her and Alonzo to the reception hall. Astrid walked in from the other corridor and Rose and her met in the middle for a hug while Alonzo sent a message.

He walked back up to the Doctor as he watched Rose and Astrid. "The engines have stabilised," he explained. "We're holding steady till we get help and I've sent the SOS. A rescue ship should be here within twenty minutes and they're digging out the records on Max Capricorn. Should be quite a story."

Rose walked up to the Doctor as he placed an arm around her waist. Mr Copper sighed. "They'll want to talk to all of us, I suppose?" He accepted.

"I'd have thought so, yeah," Alonzo agreed.

"I think one or two inconvenient truths might come to light," Mr Copper reminded them. "Still, it's my own fault and ten years in jail is better than dying."

Rose looked to the teleport bracelets including the one that was still on Astrid's wrist as she thought of something.

Rickston walked up to them then and he looked like he had been crying. "Doctor I never said thank you," he thanked as he hugged him, Rose was just about to revise her opinion of him when he continued. "The funny thing is I said Max Capricorn was falling apart, just before the crash, I sold all my shares. Transferred them to his rivals, it's made me rich," he grinned. "What do you think of that?"

"I'll tell ya what I think," Rose snarled as she slapped him.

He held his cheek as he turned his head back to them, he was about to retort when his vone started beeping. He answered it as he glared back at them before walking off. "Salvain? Those shares, I want them triple-bonded and locked."

Mr Copper and Astrid walked back over to them. "Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he?" Mr Copper realised before turning to look at Rose and the Doctor. "But if you could choose, Doctor, if you could decide who lives and who dies, that would make you a monster."

Rose grinned at the old man as she handed a teleport bracelet to the Doctor. "Mr Copper," the Doctor offered him the teleport bracelet. "I think you deserve one of these," he explained as he placed one around Rose's wrist then another around his own since Astrid was already wearing one. Alonzo stood up as he realised what was happening but instead of stopping them he saluted as they disappeared.

They appeared down the hill from the TARDIS. Rose tried to explain the earth to them as the Doctor led them up the hill towards their ship.

"So, Great Britain is part of Europy," Mr Copper tried to work out. "And just across the British Channel, you've got Great France and Great Germany."

Rose grinned as she corrected him. "No, it's just France and Germany, only Britains "Great."

"And they're all at war with the continent of Hamerica?" Mr Copper continued on.

Rose hooked her arm with the Doctors as she corected again. "No."

"Well, not yet," the Doctor corrected. "We can argue that one," they finally made it to the TARDIS. "There she is! Survive anything!"

Rose grinned as she hugged the TARDIS. "Off course she can," her grin widened when she felt the TARDIS's appreciation.

Mr Copper looked up to the sky. "You know, between the four of us, I don't even think this snow is real, I think it's the ballast from the Titanic's salvage entering the atmosphere."

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed.

Rose nudged him with her shoulder. "One of these days, it might snow for real."

Astrid looked to Rose and the Doctor. "I suppose you'll be off?"

"The open sky," the Doctor agreed.

Astrid opened and closed her mouth a few times before blurting out. "And what about us?"

The Doctor looked at her in apology. "Rose and I are best if it's just us for now."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Mr Copper demanded.

The Doctor held out his hand. "Give me that credit card."

Mr Copper placed the card in his hand. "Well, it's just petty cash," he dismissed. "Spending money, it's all done by computer, I didn't really know the currency so I thought a million might cover it."

Rose turned her shocked gaze to Mr Copper. "A million pounds?"

"Enough for trinkets," Mr Copper confirmed.

"Mr Copper," the Doctor stated. "A million pounds is worth 50 million credits."

This time it was Mr Copper and Astrid who were shocked. "How much?" Mr Copper exclaimed.

"50 million and 56," the Doctor corrected.

Mr Copper started to laugh as he and Astrid stared at each other. "We've got money," he realised.

"Yes, you have!" The Doctor agreed.

"Oh, my word," Mr Copper exclaimed. "Oh, my Vot."

Astride grabbed his arm. "Oh, my goodness me!" As they both laughed together.

"It's all yours," the Doctor gestured around them. "Planet Earth, now that's a retirement plan," the Doctor explained as he shared a look with Rose. "Just you two be careful, though!"

"We will, we will, oh, we will!" Mr Copper assured them as Astrid nodded her head.

The Doctor pointed at them. "No interfering, we don't want any trouble. Just, just have a nice life."

Mr Copper placed his arm through Astrid's. "But we can have a house! A proper house with a garden and a door! Oh, Doctor! We will make you proud!" He assured them again as he hugged the Doctor then Rose, Astrid hugged them as well knowing that she might not see them again. "We can have a kitchen with chairs and windows and plates!" Mr Copper started leading Astrid away as he assured her that she can stay with him until she gets herself sorted out, as long as she wants.

Rose turned to unlock the TARDIS door as the Doctor stared at Mr Copper and Astrid in confusion. "Um where are the two of you going?"

Astrid shrugged as Mr Copper replied. "We've no idea!"

"No, neither do we," the Doctor agreed.

"Oh, and Doctor!" Astrid called out to him. She pointed towards Rose. "Take care of her," she warned him.

The Doctor nodded his head. "Always," he assured her as he watched Rose enter the TARDIS. "Merry Christmas, Astrid and Mr Copper," he called out as he followed Rose into the TARDIS. The moment the Doctor shut the doors, Rose pulled the lever to send them into the vortex.

Once the TARDIS was parked in the vortex the Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and led her to their room. They got undressed and slipped under the covers and held each other through the night. The next morning they decided to avoid earth for awhile and set off to save other planets.


End file.
